


Christmas in New York

by PervyPenguin



Category: Hannibal - Fandom, Spacedogs - Fandom
Genre: Adam needs a hug, Adam tries, Asperger Syndrome, Canon Autistic Character, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Ice Skating, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Minor breakdown, Rating for Cursing, Slight Hurt/Comfort, Spacedogs, Traditions, adam gets a hug, nigel cares, sweetheart nigel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 09:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12885270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PervyPenguin/pseuds/PervyPenguin
Summary: Adam Raki lived his life by routines. Holidays interrupt his schedule, but that's okay. Especially at Christmas.Until now.(I've never seen Adam, so I drew on my own experience regarding Aspergers. While I am autistic myself, not all of us experience things the same way, so that may explain any differences in Adam's experience.)





	Christmas in New York

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dormchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dormchi/gifts).



> Dedicated to the lovely Dormchi, who asked for holiday SpaceDogs fluff.
> 
> Pretend Nigel moved instead of died and Adam found a lovely job in NYC instead of California.

Adam Raki’s life was built on routines. Wake up at 6, shower, dress, cereal for breakfast at 7. leave the apartment to walk to work at 7:45. Arrive at work at 8, small talk with co-workers till 8:30, lunch at 12:15, finish working at 5. Walk home, make dinner at 6, eat while watching his show. Stargaze on clear nights, tinker on cloudy ones. Grocery shop on Saturdays. Life was a plan and he followed it.

Even aberrations to the plan were planned. Holidays interrupted his normal schedule, but they too had a routine. Easter was barely a blip, a long church service on Sunday, a tradition started while his mother was alive. Thanksgiving meant a five day weekend and more time to read about space, or even visit an observatory. But Christmas… Christmas was a doozy.

The entire month of December was different. New York itself changed for the holiday, decked out in Christmas cheer. Music could be heard from all the storefronts, mingling into a harsh assault of sound. Even the streets seemed more crowded, people rushing around to buy gifts or get to parties. Any other time of year and it might all cause Adam to have a breakdown.

But it was Christmas. And Christmas was different. Traditions from his childhood had carried on, year after year. And Christmas meant walking in Midtown to see the window displays. Going to Rockefeller Center to people watch the skaters in front of the huge tree with a cup of hot chocolate. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on TV while he and his father put up their small Christmas tree. And skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Every year it was the same.

Until now.

His father had died, and now he was alone at Christmas for the first time. Most things went fine. He put up the tree with the parade on tv, took a Sunday to walk and see the window displays, even managed a short time watching the skaters under the twinkling Christmas lights. But his visit to Wollman Rink was a disaster. 

Adam had done his research, despite having gone every year for thirty years. He’d decided on a time that shouldn’t be as crowded. He carefully planned his route from Greenwich Village to Central Park, accounting for as much Christmas chaos as possible. He even paid nearly a hundred dollars for a so-called “VIP reservation”. 

And it had still gone to shit.

Maybe he should have gone in the morning, but the prospect of skating under the stars was too good to pass up. Maybe he should have gone tested his walking route before the big day. Maybe he should have…

Maybe he should have been _normal_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

The repetitive noise coming from the wall against the hall shouldn’t have bothered Nigel. God knows he’d slept through worse. But since he came to New York, he’d become accustomed to a certain measure of peace and quiet. Peace and quiet that he wasn’t _fucking_ getting at the moment. 

Clad in his boxers and his stupid dachshund shirt, he stormed to the door and threw it open. In the hallway was a man, thumping his head against the wall.

“Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re fucking doing? Do you fucking know what’s on the other side of that wall? _My_ fucking apartment!” 

The man paused in his self-violence and turned towards Nigel. 

“Sfinte rahat.” 

Nigel’s heart very nearly stopped. The poor kid was crying, tears mingling with the blood from his abused face. But beneath the blood and snot and tears was one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen.

“i’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t realize… It just… I’m so stupid, stupid, stupid.” He started hitting his head against the wall again.

Nigel maneuvered himself between the boy and the wall. “Whoa, whoa, you’re not fucking stupid, darling. Come here, let’s get you cleaned up.” He dragged the boy into his apartment and had him sit on the couch. Before heading for the bathroom, he said, “Sit tight.”

Thankfully, despite his “retirement”, he still kept a well-stocked first aid kit. He grabbed what he needed, dampened a washcloth, and headed back out. He was almost shocked that the boy was still there. 

“Okay, let’s get that fucking face fixed.” He started gently wiping up the mess. “Why don’t we get properly fucking acquainted, huh? I’m Nigel, beauty.”

“Adam. I’m Adam. I live across from you.”

“Well, Adam, I apologize for yelling at you.”

“Oh, that’s ok. I yell at things too.”

Nigel chuckled. “I’m sure you do, sweetheart. Wanna share why you were so upset?”

“Oh. Every year for Christmas, my father and I would go ice skating in Central Park. But he died. And I tried to go alone, but I got lost on the way, and there were so many people in the VIP tent, and people kept shoving me when I stopped to look at the stars. It was horrible and it’s the last tradition I have to do alone and I hate that.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, darling. Are… are traditions really such a big deal? I mean, I’ve got no fucking traditions anymore, since I left Romania.”

“Yes! Traditions are just routines that take longer!”

“And routines are important because?”

Adam shoved Nigel away and growled in frustration. “Because they are. I have to have a routine or I get frustrated and overwhelmed. Nobody understands. When things change, I don’t know how to react.”

Nigel held his hands up in surrender. “Whoa, whoa, there, darling. It’s just a question. I’ve never had a real routine in my life, so I didn’t realize what a big fucking deal it is. You need a routine, that’s fucking fine. I just wanted to understand.”

Adam deflated. “I’m sorry, Nigel. It’s been a bad day.”

“That’s alright, beautiful. What did you say earlier? That you fucking yell sometimes, too? Well, you’ve just fucking proved it,” he said with a laugh.

Adam cocked his head. “You say ‘fucking’ a lot.”

“Yes, I fucking do, sweetheart.”

“And why do you keep calling me by those names? I’m not your sweetheart or darling. I don’t understand.” Adam started to get antsy.

“Well,” Nigel drawled. “What if I wanted you to be?”

“What.” It didn’t even sound like a question, just a sound of disbelief.

“You’re gorgeous, darling, and I’d like to get to fucking know you better. Or has some lucky bastard already snapped you up?”

“You… you want to date me? Right? I don’t always understand things, but that is what you’re saying, right?” Adam’s voice was soft.

Nigel picked up his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Oh. You don’t really want to date me. Not if you knew me, I mean. Beth thought she did, too, but then she said I was too difficult and broke up with me.”

Nigel harrumphed. “Well, I’m not fucking Beth, whoever she is, and difficult doesn’t fucking scare me.”

Adam shook his head sadly. “You say that now, but everyone gets fed up with me eventually. I have Asperger’s, autism, and it makes me… different. I can’t always tell what people are feeling, and I need a routine, and crowds and lots of noises overwhelm me… And I ramble.”

“Look, Adam.” Nigel shoved his hand through his hair. “Are you saying no because you don’t want to, or because you think I shouldn’t want to?”

“You _shouldn’t_ want to date me.”

“But would you like to try dating me? Are you even fucking interested in men?” Nigel insisted.

“I don’t know. You were very loud at first. But you did take care of my face and calmed me down. And I have watched homosexual porn movies. And you are very handsome…”

“Then let’s try, darling. I can’t promise it’ll be perfect. But if you can be patient with me, and help me to fucking understand when I don’t understand things, I think it’d be worth it.”

Adam bit his lip. Nigel seemed sincere, his face was serious. Maybe they could try; would that be so terrible? It had hurt so much when Beth broke up with him, but he eventually got over it. And he liked how Nigel’s hands felt, big and rough, but touching gently. 

“Could I kiss you, Nigel?”

Nigel started. “I-yeah. Of course.”

Adam leaned in to brush his lips against Nigel’s. It wasn’t fireworks and explosions. But there was a warmth not entirely coming from their body heat. The start of something. Nigel pressed forward as Adam relaxed and gently licked his way into his mouth. Adam gasped when their tongues met. His hands flew up to land on Nigel’s shoulders. The kiss grew more passionate, as if kindling had suddenly caught fire.

When they broke apart, Nigel gave a roguish grin. “What do you say, darling? Good enough for one fucking date?”

Adam nodded faintly, then pulled Nigel back in to kiss some more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next week was spent getting to know each other. Each night, they would spend an hour or so together, sometimes having dinner, sometimes talking, once having a passionate kissing session on Adam’s couch. Nigel asked Adam to go on an official date on Saturday, which he readily agreed to.

Nigel had been planning it since day one. After learning how much Adam loved space, he bought tickets to the American Museum of Natural History, planning to listen for hours as Adam explained everything about the moon rocks, the meteorite, the fucking planets hanging from the ceiling. Dinner was going to be at an Italian restaurant that served house-made pasta and had high reviews. And finally, the surprise in Central Park.

Saturday came and Nigel was uncharacteristically nervous. He hadn’t been this fucking antsy since he first met Gabi. It was important that the date went well. Nigel knew himself. He fell hard and fast, and he was already in deep with Adam. He smoked a fucking pack between breakfast and his shower.

Finally, it was time to ‘pick up’ his boyfriend. He’d dressed smart, dark jeans and his nicest sweater. His palms were sweaty when he knocked on Adam’s door. The sight of Adam took his breath away. He had on a collared shirt and a sweater vest, and khakis that hugged his hips a little tight. His hair was parted to the side, curls barely restrained in their style. His cheeks were flushed and his lips deep red, like he’d been biting them.

“O Doamne. You look fucking gorgeous.”

The blush on Adam’s cheeks grew darker. “You look very nice, as well, Nigel.”

Nigel almost had to shake himself. “Right. Fuck.” He cleared his throat. “Shall we?”

The date went better than Nigel had even hoped. The museum was a big hit, even though Adam admitted he regularly went. Kissing under the scale models of Jupiter and Saturn more than made up for the lack of newness. Dinner was wonderful, despite Adam’s admittedly limited preference of meals. The restaurant was quiet, the pasta delicious, the atmosphere romantic. It was perfect, in Nigel’s mind. 

Central Park was the risk. Nigel knew that Adam didn’t really like surprises. He’d debated all week about whether he should spill the beans or keep his secret. He only decided after dinner, when Adam spoke of going back home.

“Actually, I thought we’d go to the ice rink. You said it was an important tradition, right? Can’t have you missing it this year.”

Adam frowned minutely. “Oh. But it’s a Saturday night. It’ll be so crowded. And what if people start shoving me again?”

Nigel grinned. “I wouldn’t worry about that, darling. I’ll take fucking care of any fucker dumb enough to try.”

Adam was reluctant, but between his own desire to keep up his tradition and Nigel’s genuine excitement, he decided it would be worth the risk. The walk to Central Park was quiet, nearly perfect. It even started lightly snowing. Nigel kept Adam’s hand in his own the whole way.

As they neared Wollman Rink, Adam noticed it wasn’t a loud as it normally was. The usual sounds of laughing children and chattering adults were absent. All he could hear was the faint sounds of instrumental Christmas music. In front of the rink was a sign.

“ _ **Closed for private event.**_ ”

Adam, having become more comfortable with the idea of a crowd on the walk, visibly deflated when he saw it. “Oh. I guess we can’t skate anyway.”

Nigel smirked conspiratorially. “I think it’ll be ok.”

“No, Nigel, it’s closed. We can’t skate when someone rented the whole thing,” Adam said, distressed at his boyfriend’s lack of understanding.

A new voice suddenly spoke. “Ah! Nigel! You made it. And this must be Adam.”

“Gwen, good evening. Adam here was just worrying that we wouldn’t be able to skate tonight, but I told him it was no problem.” Nigel shook hands with the woman. “Adam, this is Gwen, she’s the person who takes care of special events and so forth. You see, _I_ rented the rink tonight. So that we could take our time and skate under the stars as much as you like.”

Adam’s vision blurred. He blinked rapidly as tears formed. “You… you rented the entire rink?”

Nigel gently wiped the tears from Adam’s eyes. “Yes, dragă. I knew you were fucking special the first time I saw you. And I’m falling in love with you, Adam. I wanted to do something just as fucking special for you.”

“Nigel!” Adam threw himself into Nigel’s arms, hugging him tightly. “Thank you.”

“Shh, darling. It’s all okay. Let’s go skate, hmm?”

**Author's Note:**

> Translations (as told by google):  
> Sfinte rahat: Holy shit  
> O Doamne: Oh my God  
> dragă: darling
> 
> I've never seen either movie, so hopefully, they seem relatively in character. I live for comments and kudos! Come visit me on [Tumblr!](http://www.phangirlpenguin.tumblr.com)


End file.
